Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Hazelnut Linzer Cookies with Christine Ferber Raspberry Violette Jam

Sorry I've been gone so long. Holidays? Anyway. So you know that jam I picked up in Paris. The Christine Ferber for Pierre Herme jam. It has been sitting on my bookshelf. I kept thinking, "What can I do with this jam? What does one do with arguably the world's greatest jam, eat it with a spoon?"

I opened a jar. And, yes. You eat it with a spoon as fast as you can and hide the evidence- throw away the jar in the dumpster, take a shower and brush your teeth and hope your roommate doesn't find out. At least that's what I wanted to do. Instead, I used it for the purpose I had intended it for- the filling of some Linzer cookies.

Now, I am not a big fan of jam cookies. They're gross. So I tried to do this right. First, I attempted to find the best Linzer cookie recipe. I considered Nancy Silverton's recipe, but I couldn't get passed how weird it was to be adding hard-boiled egg yolks to cookies. I also wanted the recipe to have some cream cheese in it. Instead I modified this Good Housekeeping recipe to use hazelnuts instead of almonds.

I didn't have a tiny strainer, and these needed a powdered sugar dusting. I had to use this tea strainer- it worked remarkably well and I think there was a lot less escaped powdered sugar. I recommend doing this. Jam-filled cookies that are filled with the freshest, most delicious raspberry puree!

Oh, I'll wash the dishes.

I'm a 27 year old girl living in Chicago. I love cooking and France and baking and France and my dog that looks like a bear (and who is part French). These are the things that I do, and the things that I make, and the things that I like.